I have so much to talk about I don't even know where to start. The first thing is that my English has gotten awful because I speak in broken English all day, everyday. For example, today i said he smoke-ked instead of smoked. Therefore, I apologize for anything that does not make sense.
One Monday we went to an orientation meeting where we learned all about
the Carpi school system and the programs background. Then, we had lunch.
At lunch we had lambrusco, Coca (coke), pasta, risotto, quiche, grilled
vegetables, and caprese. For desert we had espresso and gelato. We
also got a small tour of the city.
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| Emily, Melissa, Jaclyn, Hope, and katie in the Piazza |
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In the afternoon Emily and I went shopping in town to get a few essentials. I then went home and spent time with the family. Monday evening I went to Nona Lilianna's house from there her, Gabri, and I went to the park. Gabri and I played football of course, it is his favorite sport. He plays everywhere he goes. Later, Laura and Alessandro met us at the park; I left with Laura to visit a few markets. For dinner we had fresh fruits and vegetables. they had me try canteloupe wrapped in thinly sliced ham. The thought was disgusting but surprisingly delicous. As an "appetizer we had salmaniand bread. Alessandro poured me a glass of what I thought was orange soda. I took a huge swig only to find out it was something called spritz (its like a flavored malt beverage). Not what I was expecting! My family is awesome so I am really happy we get along so well. We laugh often together and are constantly teaching the other new things. For example we were talking the other night and Alessandro said "under pressure" which he followed with "da da dum dum dum dum". Think David Bowie.
Italian moms are quite different than American moms but not in a bad way. For example they are very concerned with their children being cold. Laura always makes sure that I have a jacket because it has been a little chilly here. She also woke me up when I fell asleep with the light on to dry my hair. I told her I was ok but she said "no, you will get sick".
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| up close picture of me |
Tuesday was my first day of school! I am lucky because Em
ily is with me and another girl named Molly. I will be working in 3 classrooms:kindergarten, 1st grade, and a preschool class that has 3,4 &5 year olds.The school has 2 English teachers, Guilia and Laura. I was supposed to work primarily with Guilia however Laura has been borrowing me to work with the older kids (11-14). These
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| If I say "Cheeeeese" Gabri knows to smile |
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| First day of school! |
children know some English so she has us working on conversational English with them.Otherwise, the other teachers and students that i work with know a few words in English. On the first day of school we got tour of Sacro Coure. They made us a welcoming poster; I was told not to be offended because the autistic kid drew my picture.The kids are super excited to work with us. The pre-teens are in love with American culture which Emily and I find so funny. We also had the opportunity to met
suora on this day. She is a hoot! she is one of the nuns at the school, she is from Britain.When she met us she looked at Laura and said, "They dumped our tea into the ocean you know? I'm not so upset about everything else but that was good tea" (referring to the Boston Tea Party for those who didn't pay attention in history class). She is definitely the sassiest nun I have ever met in my life. Another thing I love about the school is that all the children call me Kah-reest-teen; it is so adorable! After school we went to Nona Lilliana's house for lunch. She is an AMAZING cook just like my grandmothers. In the afternoon we had to go to a few hours of meetings for the
program. Afterwards we went out for pizza & gelato. We had lots of
pizza and wine! I finally learned that salame piccante is like pepperoni
in the United States. What a relief.
I went to sleep that night and
woke up 2 hours later. I was exhausted the next day. On Wednesday Laura had to leave really early for a business trip to Serbia and Croatia. The boys think they are free but she has entrusted me with keeping them in line :). 9;30 for bed! She will return Saturday. Wednesday is also the day I had my first little emotional break. I was physically and emotionally exhausted from how busy we have been. I sat in the classroom for 2 hours wednesday morning trying to understand what was going on. I had my English-Italian dictionary and did my best to understand. It was very frustrated because no one can speak English. Our program professors came by the school to check on us and pulled Emily and I out of our classes. When we went into the hallway and I just started to cry. I felt much better getting that out though. I am doing the best I can and am learning new things everyday. It will just take awhile to get used to. School gets out at 1pm everyday. I mostly at Lilianna's house but sometimes at school. Wednesday I ate at school. The school lunch was delicious! We had pasta, breaded chicken, potatoes, and fresh kiwi. I went home to rest then met Emily, Jaclyn, and Lauren in the Piazza. After a few hours I left them. I was lost looking for the information office (I wanted to get a map of Bologna). I heard a girl speaking English so I went up to speak to her. She was another american from New york. She has been living in Carpi for 7 years now and teaches English classes. Her name is Adrienne. She was very nice and it was great to talk to her.
I have so much to talk about I don't even know where to start. The first thing is that my English has gotten awful because I speak in broken English all day, everyday. For example, today i said he smoke-ked instead of smoked. Therefore, I apologize for anything that does not make sense. 
One Monday we went to an orientation meeting where we learned all about
the Carpi school system and the programs background. Then, we had lunch.
At lunch we had lambrusco, Coca (coke), pasta, risotto, quiche, grilled
vegetables, and caprese. For desert we had espresso and gelato. We
also got a small tour of the city. 
In the afternoon Emily and I went shopping in town to get a few essentials. I then went home and spent time with the family. Monday evening I went to Nona Lilianna's house from there her, Gabri, and I went to the park. Gabri and I played football of course, it is his favorite sport. He plays everywhere he goes. Later, Laura and Alessandro met us at the park; I left with Laura to visit a few markets. For dinner we had fresh fruits and vegetables. they had me try canteloupe wrapped in thinly sliced ham. The thought was disgusting but surprisingly delicous. As an "appetizer we had salmaniand bread. Alessandro poured me a glass of what I thought was orange soda. I took a huge swig only to find out it was something called spritz (its like a flavored malt beverage). Not what I was expecting! My family is awesome so I am really happy we get along so well. We laugh often together and are constantly teaching the other new things. For example we were talking the other night and Alessandro said "under pressure" which he followed with "da da dum dum dum dum". Think David Bowie.
Tuesday was my first day of school! I am lucky because Emily is with me and another girl named Molly. I will be working in 3 classrooms:kindergarten, 1st grade, and a preschool class that has 3,4 &5 year olds.The school has 2 English teachers, Guilia and Laura. I was supposed to work primarily with Guilia however Laura has been borrowing me to work with the older kids (11-14). These 
children know some English so she has us working on conversational English with them.Otherwise, the other teachers and students that i work with know a few words in English. On the first day of school we got tour of Sacro Coure. They made us a welcoming poster; I was told not to be offended because the autistic kid drew my picture.The kids are super excited to work with us. The pre-teens are in love with American culture which Emily and I find so funny. We also had the opportunity to met suora on this day. She is a hoot! she is one of the nuns at the school, she is from Britain.When she met us she looked at Laura and said, "They dumped our tea into the ocean you know? I'm not so upset about everything else but that was good tea" (referring to the Boston Tea Party for those who didn't pay attention in history class). She is definitely the sassiest nun I have ever met in my life. Another thing I love about the school is that all the children call me Kah-reest-teen; it is so adorable! After school we went to Nona Lilliana's house for lunch. She is an AMAZING cook just like my grandmothers. In the afternoon we had to go to a few hours of meetings for the
program. Afterwards we went out for pizza & gelato. We had lots of
pizza and wine! I finally learned that salame piccante is like pepperoni
in the United States. What a relief. 
I went to sleep that night and
woke up 2 hours later. I was exhausted the next day. On Wednesday Laura had to leave really early for a business trip to Serbia and Croatia. The boys think they are free but she has entrusted me with keeping them in line :). 9;30 for bed! She will return Saturday. Wednesday is also the day I had my first little emotional break. I was physically and emotionally exhausted from how busy we have been. I sat in the classroom for 2 hours wednesday morning trying to understand what was going on. I had my English-Italian dictionary and did my best to understand. It was very frustrated because no one can speak English. Our program professors came by the school to check on us and pulled Emily and I out of our classes. When we went into the hallway and I just started to cry. I felt much better getting that out though. I am doing the best I can and am learning new things everyday. It will just take awhile to get used to. School gets out at 1pm everyday. I mostly at Lilianna's house but sometimes at school. Wednesday I ate at school. The school lunch was delicious! We had pasta, breaded chicken, potatoes, and fresh kiwi. I went home to rest then met Emily, Jaclyn, and Lauren in the Piazza. After a few hours I left them. I was lost looking for the information office (I wanted to get a map of Bologna). I heard a girl speaking English so I went up to speak to her. She was another american from New york. She has been living in Carpi for 7 years now and teaches English classes. Her name is Adrienne. She was very nice and it was great to talk to her. 
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